


A Brother's Instinct

by Miss Curtis (Aly208)



Category: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Implied Underage, M/M, Molestation, Pedophilia, Pre-Canon, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-30
Updated: 2012-09-30
Packaged: 2017-11-15 07:41:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/524838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aly208/pseuds/Miss%20Curtis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Soda knew something was wrong with Ponyboy ever since he came home from school. He just never expected something like this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Brother's Instinct

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: 2/27/2017  
> I recently looked at this story and couldn't believe how popular it got. I'm honestly amazed. It's been awhile since I wrote this, though, so I edited it and made it more concise. Nothing too drastic in terms of story line is changed. Enjoy!

The moment Ponyboy walked into the house, Soda knew something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

Well, for one thing, Ponyboy didn't even look at him or the others when he came in. He stumbled in, his clothes disheveled – a sleeve slipped off his shoulder, a tear in his blue jeans – and his eyes large and watery. He wrapped his arms over his shaking body, panting as if he had ran the whole way home.

"Hey, Pony, are you okay?" Soda asked, hopping off the couch and making his way over to Ponyboy. His chocolate brown eyes filled with concern for his younger brother. What happened to him? Did some Socs jump him? Soda bristled at the thought, but kept his cool. He noticed that Ponyboy didn't have any bruises and cuts, so Socs probably didn't beat him up. But the way Ponyboy was acting told Soda that something else had happened.

Something worse.

"Ponyboy...?" asked Soda, stepping closer and closer to an oblivious Ponyboy. He turned his head back and gave the other occupants of the room, Steve and Two-Bit, a puzzled look before turning back to his brother.

Ponyboy's head snapped up to meet Soda's gaze. He blinked a few times and looked around, relieved, like he hadn't realized he was home.

"Huh? Soda? What'd you say?" Ponyboy asked, walking past him and dropping his school bag by the couch. He sat down on a cushion and, noticing his fallen sleeve, hastily corrected it.

Soda furrowed his brow, narrowing his eyes and scrutinizing Ponyboy. "I asked if you were all right, honey," he repeated.

"Oh, I'm fine," Ponyboy replied, waving his hand at Soda dismissively. He turned to look at the two other gang members in the room. "Steve," he acknowledged bitterly; Steve snorted at him. He then turned to Two-Bit. "Hey, Two-Bit. How come you weren't in school today?" he asked.

"Felt like skippin' for once - y'know, need some me and Mickey time," Two-Bit said, smiling goofily as he stretched his arms way above his head. He stood up from his position on the floor and sat down on the couch beside Ponyboy, giving the younger male a pat on the back.

Soda didn't miss the way Pony flinched at the touch. His typically jovial eyes grew darker. Usually, Ponyboy wouldn't even notice if Two-Bit touched him, much less _flinch._ What had happened to his brother? 

Soda decided to keep a wary eye on Ponyboy this week.

* * *

The next few days were normal.

If you didn't count the fact that Ponyboy came home from school everyday looking like he had recently ran in a marathon, of course. The only good thing was that Pony wasn't as shook up as he was the first time. He just seemed worn-out, a nervous, tired look in his eyes.

Soda, being the perceptive big brother he was, noticed this right off the bat. Everyday, he would raise a suspicious eyebrow at Ponyboy's panting form and ask if he was all right. Pony, however, would just brush the question off and change the subject. And Soda wouldn't say anything; he'd just watch Ponyboy retreat to their room. He was still concerned, but he didn't want to push the subject. Ponyboy would tell him if anything serious was going on with him when he was good and ready.

That logic flew out the window today.

Soda had been working behind the counter at the DX, giddy for no other reason except for the fact that he was Sodapop Curtis, which meant that he could be as exuberant as he pleased. As Soda bounced on the heels of his feet, he glanced out the glass window and spied two fellow greasers walking into the store.

Soda smiled graciously when the two entered and asked, "What can I do for y'all this afternoon?"

One of the greasers, the tall one with hard brown eyes, shrugged. "We're just gonna take a look around," he said in a hoarse voice, his eyes half-lidded as he viewed the products.

The shorter man beside him nodded, staring at the objects with a too fascinated look in his green eyes.

Soda wiped the smile off his face, replacing it with a guarded expression. He should've known they were up to trouble the moment they stepped foot in the store. As much as Soda liked to interact with other greasers, they often tried to steal the merchandise, especially teenaged ones like these two that were ditching school.

The duo made no sign of ever feeling his vigilant eyes upon them. As they browsed around, they talked freely and loudly.

"You heard the latest news in school?"

"Naw, what is it?"

"There's this rumor going around about a kid and a teacher screwin' each other."

"What?"

"That's what I said! And get a load of this: the kid's a greaser, too!"

"Whoa, who is it?"

"I don't know. His name is somethin' real weird. Somethin' to do with horses, I think."

Soda froze, his mind trying to process this revelation. They had to be talking about someone else. They couldn't have been talking about Ponyboy, not  **his**   _fourteen-year-old kid brother._ There was no way Ponyboy would do _that_ with a teacher, it was impossible, Ponyboy was just a kid, and his teachers were good people and they would _never_ and he would _never_ and-

Soda nearly had a heart attack right there and then. He made an odd choking noise in the back of his throat, feeling heat encase his face, as things started to click together in his mind. Trepidation and dark rage swelled up inside of him, desperately trying to claw their way out. However, Soda took a deep breath and forced his fury back down. It would do him no good if he burst and went crazy now; he could lose his job. 

Soda bit down on his lip, tasting blood. He didn't even care that the other two greasers were stealing everything they could stuff in their pockets. All he cared about was going home and talking to Ponyboy.

* * *

"Ponyboy, is there somethin' you wanna talk to me about?" Soda asked, leaning against the door frame of his and Ponyboy's bedroom with his arms crossed.

Ponyboy froze, stopping in the middle of whatever he was writing. He placed his pencil down on his desk and turned around to face his brother. "No, why do you ask?" he asked innocently.

Soda shrugged, although he fervently prayed in his head that this was all a stupid rumor. "I'm just curious. Wanted to see what you're up to." A few minutes passed where he stared at Pony, searching for something in his face. "So...there's nothin' going on at school? At all?"

Ponyboy flinched so quickly that Soda barely caught it. He turned his chair to face the desk, hiding his face from his prying brother. "No. Now can you please leave me alone, Soda? I really need to finish this essay for tomorrow," he explained.

"I heard somethin' real interestin' about you today, Pony," Soda began instead, walking into the room. "You wanna tell me anythin' before I reveal it?" he asked, his dark brown eyes full of desperation.

Pony shook his head, averting his eyes to the ground from Soda's imploring gaze. "No," he murmured.

"I-I...I heard you were havin' an affair with a teacher, Ponyboy," Soda whispered, his eyes tearing up uncontrollably. "Is it true? Please tell me it's not true, honey. Please, just tell me..."

Slowly, Ponyboy shook his head. He looked up to meet Soda's gaze, and the elder Curtis saw Pony's eyes glistening with unshed tears and his lower lip quivering.

"He - I-I mean, I didn't want it, Soda. He f-forced himself on me, b-but he only did it once. One time, that's it, Sodapop. He d-didn't even get that far. I got away f-from him before he could, and then I ran home," Ponyboy sobbed, holding his head in his hands.

Tears sailed down Soda's handsome face. He didn't know what was worse, having Ponyboy be with a teacher willingly or having it be nonconsensual.

Soda held out his arms and engulfed Ponyboy in an embrace, squeezing him tightly. "Oh, baby, why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his voice muffled by tears as he rocked himself and Ponyboy.

However, all Pony did was bury his head in his elder brother's chest, refusing to give an answer. Soda could feel Ponyboy's tears dampen his shirt, but that was the least of his worries right now. 

After a few minutes of the comforting silence, the two brothers broke apart from each other's hold. Ponyboy wiped at his eyes hastily while a sniffling Soda pretended not to notice.

"P-Please don't tell Darry," Ponyboy implored, his eyes pleading. 

At the moment Soda opened his mouth to reply, a gruff, yet familiar voice said, "Don't tell Darry what?"

Ponyboy stiffened at the sound of his eldest brother. "Nothin', Dar. It's not important," he quickly lied.

Darry stepped into the room. He had one eyebrow raised skeptically and a thoughtful frown on his lips. "It's gotta be important if you ain't plannin' to tell me. So, c'mon, spit it out, Ponyboy."

Ponyboy's lips pursed before he began to chew on his bottom lip, his gaze averted toward the ground, avoiding the stares of his brothers.

"Ponyboy," growled Darry in exasperation. He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I ain't got all day, kiddo."

"I-I," Pony began. He looked up at Soda, sending a beseeching look. "Please Soda, you tell him," he whined.

Soda sighed and fidgeted as he felt Darry's stern gaze turn to him. He took a deep breath. "Darry," he began slowly, "promise me that, if I tell you this, you ain't gonna hit the roof."

Darry sighed. "All right, now is someone gonna tell me what's going on or what?"

Soda and Ponyboy shared a worried look before the former hesitantly said, "Dar, a couple of days ago at school, Pone was - well, a teacher..." He took a large gulp and calmed down before he lowered his voice and said, "Ponyboy was t-touched by a teacher."

Silence coated the room. No one said or did anything. The tension was so strained you could cut it with a knife.

Then, a voice. It was disbelieving and angered. "Soda, if you think this is some kinda joke-"

"H-He ain't foolin' around, Darry," Ponyboy cut off, refusing to look up from the ground. He wiped at his eyes once more.

" _What?_ " Darry growled, his icy eyes melted to a pool of enmity. "Teacher. Who?" He was so enraged he couldn't even speak in fully formed sentences.

"Why? What're you gonna do?" asked Ponyboy. "You can't do anythin', Darry. If the state hears about this, I'll be sent to a boys' home."

Darry clenched his fists, and Soda could see the veins on his muscles start to bulge. "Don't care. Just tell me."

Ponyboy hesitated a moment, looking at anything but his brothers. "...Coach McCoy," he mumbled.

Darry's eyes widened to an impossible size, his jaw agape. He took a step back, stunned. Soda took one glance at Darry and instantly knew that he had the same horrified expression.

"McCoy? My old football coach - McCoy?"

Pony nodded slowly, and that was all it took for Darry to burst out of the room, ignoring the protests and cries of his brothers. "I'll be back," was the only thing he said before he slammed the front door so roughly that the whole house shook.

Soda and Ponyboy shared a worried look.

They both knew Darry wouldn't be back for awhile.

* * *

Darry didn't come back until late that night.

The only reason Soda knew that was because he had waited for his elder brother. He sat on Darry's recliner and watched the TV with a bored expression, not even aware of what show was on.

Then, at half past one, the front door creaked open. Soda turned off the television and sat up in the armchair, trying to put on the most stern look he had. He watched Darry try to tiptoe in, quietly closing the door behind him as if he were a wild teenager coming back home after sneaking off to a crazy party.

Soda cleared his throat loudly. Darry cringed at the noise and spun around to see his younger brother staring at him in disapproval.

"Darry, where'd you go?"

Darry shuffled into the room. "Where's Ponyboy?" he instead asked.

"He's sleepin'." Soda had to actually force Ponyboy to go to bed; it hadn't been easy, to say at the least. "Darry, did you do somethin' stupid? 'Cause this ain't like you at all, y'know."

Darry sighed and sat down on the couch. "Soda, I didn't do nothin' crazy nor stupid. I-I just couldn't handle it, y'know? I mean, Soda, that was my _football coach._ Man, he used to be the guy I could talk to about anythin'. We got along great, me and him. But to think that he tried to go after our kid brother...it makes me mad as all heck. Then I started thinking, who else did he try this with? How many other kids did he touch? Did he try to go after you or me? It makes me so  _angry_ , Soda, 'cause I used to think he was such a nice guy. And the worst part is that I should have  _known._ I'm Pony's guardian; I should've known somethin' was different, I should've asked what was wrong." Darry put face in his hands.

Soda's expression softened. He stood up and sat by Darry, wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulders. "Aw, Dar, you can't blame yourself. It's not your fault. Heck, I didn't even know until I heard some rumor about the whole thing."

Darry's back stiffened and he removed his hands from his face. "There are  _rumors?_ Soda, what if the state catches word of it? Lordy, they're gonna put you and Pony in a boys' home faster than you can say 'unfair.'"

"They ain't gonna hear about it, Darry," Soda said firmly. "They ain't got any proof to back it up." After a moment's pause, he added, "Where'd you go anyway?"

"I went lookin' for McCoy." When Darry saw Soda's worried expression, he added, "I told you I ain't done nothin' stupid. All I did was go up to the guy and tell him to stop touchin' our kid brother or he'll know the feelin' of my fist in his mouth."

Soda sighed in relief, but then he gained a dangerous glint in his eyes and said, "He'll know a heck of a lot more than your fist in his mouth if he goes after Pony again. And I'll be the first one to hunt him down."

Darry nodded, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. "I don't know about that, little buddy. You're gonna have to compete with the gang if they find out."

The two brothers talked about how badly McCoy was going to get it, both ignoring that, even though they both had work the next morning, the clock was making its way to half past two.

* * *

When Ponyboy came home after school the next day, Soda and Darry were both waiting for him in the living room. Darry had taken a few hours off work because there was enough money for this month and he was exhausted after last night.

Ponyboy walked into the house, looking oddly relaxed. That expression turned into one of confusion when he saw both of his brothers sitting on the couch, staring at him.

"Soda? Darry? What're you doing home?"

Darry cleared his throat. "I took a few hours off work today. Now, Pone, I'm sorry that I stormed off last night, but I need to know about these things, all right? That ain't somethin' you bottle up and keep to yourself, it's  _serious._ Real serious. If the state found out about this before I did, who knows what might've happened."  _  
_

Ponyboy sighed and said, "Okay, I get it, Dar. I swear I'll tell you if anythin' happens again. But where'd you go last night?"

"Nowhere you need to know," Darry replied, shifting on the couch as Ponyboy raised an eyebrow and sent him a suspicious look.

Soda grinned at his brothers. "Okay, now it's time for the comfortin' part where we all hug each other and start cryin'! Pone, come here!" he said, reaching his arms out for Ponyboy.

Ponyboy rolled his eyes, but complied anyway. He walked over to Soda, who gave out an excited yelp and wrapped his arms around his brother, putting him on his lap and cuddling him close to his chest.

After a few minutes, Soda realized that one brother was missing out on all the affection. "Darry! Join us!" he shouted exuberantly and pushed a shocked Ponyboy onto Darry's lap instead. The blonde then stood up on the couch and wrapped his arms around his elder brother's neck. He saw Darry smile softly and embrace Pony, who hugged him back.

Soda smiled. He couldn't imagine a world without his loving little family.

* * *

**BONUS SCENE**

"Soda?"

"Yes, baby?"

"You and Darry didn't tell the gang that Coach McCoy touched me, right?"

"COACH MCCOY DID  _WHAT_  TO YOU? Are you okay, Pone? Wait a minute...GUYS, GUYS! C'MERE, COACH MCCOY TOUCHED PONY!"

"What was that, Two-Shit? Coach McCoy be doing what to the little brat?"

"Pony, are you okay?"

"Well, I'll be back later. I'm gonna go look for this sick fuck."

"WAIT FOR ME, DALLY!"

"...Well, they know now."

"Dang it!"


End file.
